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Understand CFRA leave limits: Employees’ reinstatement rights last just 12 weeks

09/16/2011
The Court of Appeal of California has clarified that employees taking California Family Rights Act leave are entitled to reinstatement to the same or an equivalent job only if they return at the end of their 12 weeks of leave or earlier. They can’t take additional non-CFRA leave to ex­­­tend their return rights.

Know the FMLA rules: You must allow intermittent leave before women give birth

09/13/2011

Some employers mistakenly believe that women who want to use FMLA leave when they become pregnant can’t demand intermittent leave. Managers may be confusing FMLA provisions that apply to the time leading up to the birth of a child with those that apply to the time after the child is born (or adopted).

Must employers grant FMLA leave for an adult child’s injuries?

08/29/2011
Everyone knows employees can use FMLA to care for minor children who have serious health conditions. But what about adult children who need a parent’s care? It’s a difficult issue that straddles the complex intersection of the FMLA and the ADA, plus definitions of “disability” and “care.”

New law clarifies leave for organ, bone marrow donors

08/18/2011
Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation that spells out insurance and time-off requirements related to California’s new law that guarantees paid leave for employees who donate organs and bone marrow.

Conn. is first to mandate sick leave for service staff

08/15/2011
In what could be the start of a national trend, Connecticut lawmakers OK’d a new law that requires employers with 50 or more workers in Connecticut to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave to their “service workers.”

Requesting light duty isn’t an official FMLA request

07/26/2011
The FMLA grants time off for em­­ployees with serious health conditions, but they must let employers know they need leave. Simply requesting light-duty work isn’t enough.

EEOC finds fault with ‘no-fault’ attendance policies

07/26/2011
Telecommunications giant Verizon has agreed to settle a nationwide class-action lawsuit brought by its disabled employees. In all, the company will pay out about $20 million to employees who missed work for reasons related to their disabilities. The lawsuit, filed by the EEOC on behalf of disabled Verizon workers across the country, claims Verizon’s “no-fault” attendance policy violates the ADA.

Out of FMLA leave–and out of luck?

07/13/2011
Q. One of our employees has a recurring illness that flares up every so often. By taking a few weeks off here and there, he has used all of his paid time off (PTO) and exhausted his FMLA leave. If he has another flare-up, do we have to permit him to take time off even though it would be more than the FMLA requires or our policies allow?

Base FMLA eligibility on date leave begins

07/13/2011

Employees have to give 30 days’ notice before taking FMLA leave. That means some employees may ask for FMLA leave before they are actually eligible. For example, an employee may request time off for a serious health condition when he still has a few hours more to work before hitting the one-year or 1,250-hour milestone. Employers can’t deny the request merely because it was made before the employee became eligible.

State by State 2015 Short-Term Child-Care Leave Laws

07/13/2011
In honor of the impending beginning of another school year, and first-day school jitters everywhere, this chart summarizes states’ short-term leave laws. States that don’t have laws aren’t listed. In most cases, employees may substitute paid accrued leave for unpaid leave. To get the full story on state leave laws, contact your state labor department.